Corsi di Studio del Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza

The aim of the course is to provide students with basic knowledge and elements of law and technology, to enable them to develop arguments and critical reflections on the main subjects of the course as well as to make a correct use of both technical terms in e.g. computer science, and the philosophical and legal language.     

As a result of the course, students are expected:

-  to obtain the basic knowledge and elements of law and technology;

-  to be able to develop arguments and critical reflections on the main subjects of the course;

-  to be able to understand and make a correct use of both technical terms in e.g. computer science, and the philosophical and legal language.

The increasing role of technology in today's societies raises major challenges for the law in a variety of moral, theoretical and doctrinal dimensions. The aim of this course is to analyze current developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and further technological innovation fields through the prism of legal regulation and/or vice versa (analyzing legal regulation through the prism of AI and technological innovation). In addition to discussing the interface of law and technology through a variety of critical theoretical perspectives, the course will focus on specific topics and case studies as "laboratories" for assessing contemporary approaches to law & technology. The topics to be discussed include the impact of AI on constitutional rights, criminal and tort law, data protection and intellectual property, and more. The main objective of this course is to make students aware of the connections between technology and the legal environment and keep them up-to-date with the current discussions worldwide.

The course consists of 40 hours; of which 1/3 teaching classes; 2/3 videos, readings, and further materials provided via our course webpage. Such distribution will depend on the developing of the pandemic crisis. Students will be immediately contacted if any changes will be necessary.

The ten weeks of the course will focus on:

1. Law and Technology: Definitions, Actors, Concepts

2. Human Rights & Constitutional Law

3. Legal Personality and Artificial Intelligence

4. Data Protection

5. Tort Law Approaches to AI

6. AI & Criminal Law

7. AI & Tort Law

8. AI & Patent Law

9. Business Law, Antitrust and Trade Secrets 

10. The Future of Technological Regulation

An oral exam will cover all the topics of the course.  Through questioning, students are expected to prove the required theoretical knowledge of legal philosophy as well as their ability to argue and critically reflect on the main subjects of the course. Students' ability to make a correct use of the philosophical and legal language will be also evaluated.  

Woodrow Barfield & Ugo Pagallo, Advanced Introduction to Law and Artificial Intelligence, Edward Elgar Publisher (2020)